TKD24

I've heard really good things about Sandy Run, and it was great to get out there and play it.

A lot of trees seem to have been removed at the start of this season which opened things up a bit, and the 8th hole is undergoing a renovation with new bunkering. The greens ran very true and the fairways were in great shape.

As for routing, I did find myself reaching for the big dog quite often, but there were at least 3 holes where I went with hybrid off the tee. Many holes will make you think about shaping a draw or a fade to give yourself an easier 2nd. The par 3s were pretty benign except for the long second hole. It played 193 into a pretty strong wind today.

All in all, I found that I definitely had to think about where I wanted to land the ball to get a better approach in. I couldn't just grip it and rip it like so many courses these days. The course made you think, yet it wasn't overtly punishing. You could definitely find some bail outs one way or another to stay away from those big numbers.

Didn't really interact with the staff very much, but the pro shop guy seemed friendly!

Let me start by saying that the course has typically been in very good shape for a public track. Definitely one of the best that are available to those of us in the Philadelphia suburbs. My major complaint regarding the conditions recently (greens were "scruffy"), I'll just chalk up to being early in the season. But, it is what it is, I know plenty of courses in the area that were able to cut their greens sufficiently for a solid 10.

However, there is a common denominator for every time I've played there. The greens are such a gimmick. They are huge. I mean...HUGE. Huge with some crazy undulations that don't really seem to belong other than to make you scratch your head and wonder what they were thinking. Look, I get that there's an audience that appreciates the larger greens, but some of the undulations are truly unnecessary.

Finally, I found that there was no real need to strategize too much off the tee. I could essentially hit driver on every par 4 or par 5 except for one without thinking too hard about the risk/reward of it. I do enjoy the reachable par 4, 18th, though!

This Arnold Palmer design will challenge your game in every respect no matter which tee box you play from. It requires you to weigh the risk versus reward on many of the holes, and it keeps you on your toes throughout the round.

At first glance, you'll wonder how a great track can run through an office complex, but they rarely come into play (except maybe on 6 and 7). Then, once you hit the 13th, you'll feel as if you're on a resort course somewhere and not in the middle of the Philadelphia suburbs.

It's a great private track, and if you ever have the chance to play it, I urge you to do so!